Noise mitigation works | REM service restricted from Sunday

The Réseau express métropolitain (REM) will no longer run after 10 p.m. in the evening from October 15, from Sunday to Thursday, between the Panama and Gare Centrale stations, for six weeks, due to work to reduce the noise generated by light rail.

“In order to carry out the work required to reduce the noise impact of the REM in certain sectors, an interruption of service is planned from October 15, 2023, for approximately six weeks, between the Gare Centrale and Panama stations from 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday,” confirmed the REM manager, CDPQ Infra, in a communication at the end of the day.

CDPQ Infra had already mentioned a few weeks ago that service interruptions were to be expected, but we still did not know exactly when.

The service will therefore be interrupted from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., the normal closing time of the REM, which then reopens at 5:30 a.m. in the morning. However, the usual schedule will be maintained on Fridays and Saturdays. “During the interruption, bus shuttles will provide service between the two stations,” specified the organization, which will therefore once again call on the Longueuil Transport Network (RTL) to move users.

Admitting that the noise emitted by its train is “unsatisfactory” between L’Île-des-Sœurs and Central Station, the subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt announced at the end of September that acoustic grinding would be carried out on the rails by November. This essentially amounts to applying a lubricant to the rails to reduce the noise of friction with the train as it passes.

Dynamic absorbers will also be added by December to reduce the propagation of vibrations on the rails. These two measures should generate a reduction in sound intensity of 5 to 10 decibels, which amounts to reducing noise “by 3 to 10 times”. The addition of new noise walls has been excluded.

“We have just taken users by surprise”

At Trajectoire Québec, an association which defends the interests and rights of public transport users, we denounce that it is the users who will suffer first because of the situation. The group would have preferred that the work be carried out “during the four hours of service shutdown at night, which are precisely planned for track maintenance”.

“We have just taken users by surprise with this announcement with five days’ notice, which is not much for those who will have to adjust their travel,” regrets the general director of the organization, Sarah V. Doyon. “The important thing is to maintain the quality of service so that users can rely on it,” she persists.

In his eyes, requiring a transfer to go from the shuttle bus to the REM between the Panama and Brossard stations “adds to the inconvenience” for users.

Up to 75 decibels

If the grinding will be carried out “on the entire section between L’Île-des-Sœurs and Central Station”, the dynamic absorbers will however only be present “on the significant portions of the route, located near homes” , said the president and CEO of CDPQ Infra, Jean-Marc Arbaud.

Measures taken by The Press with a sound level meter this summer showed that the noise generated by the REM regularly exceeds 70 decibels, particularly in the Pointe-Saint-Charles district, sometimes even the 75 mark.

The situation then concerned Montreal Public Health, but also many local residents exasperated by the disruption to their daily lives, forcing the Caisse de dépôt to launch a sound test campaign. It was at the end of this that the decision to carry out new work was taken.

This noise mitigation work should cost “a few million, less than ten,” said Mr. Arbaud, who does not see a budgetary issue.